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January 5, 2014Last May, I celebrated my tenth anniversary of becoming a Roman Catholic Priest and I have to admit it has been an amazing ten years; God has used me (as His instrument) in so many amazing ways. As I reflected on the past ten years, I began to realize that there was a topic in my spiritual ponderings that I have been avoiding. Surprisingly I discovered that I have been avoiding writing about the topic of priesthood all these years. I realize that I have been avoiding this topic for many reasons and before I get into the heart of my ponderings on the priesthood with you, I would like to share some of them with you.
1. One of the reasons why I have been avoiding writing about the priesthood is because I have always wanted my Spiritual Ponderings Columns to be centered on things that the average Catholic should know about and sadly I thought that the only people who would care about my thoughts on the priesthood was other priests. After much reflection though, I see that there is much confusion in the Church today about the role of priests and that clearing up (or at least trying) will help many grow in their faith. We are the family of God and what effects one member of the body effects us all and thus learning more about the priesthood helps strengthens everyone’s faith whether they are a priest or not.
2. Another reason why I have been reluctant to write about the priesthood was that, I received some negative feedback about one of my earliest spiritual ponderings in which I talked about the busyness of the average priest’s day. The person(s) thought I was bragging about all that I was doing and I remember my point was something along the lines of encouraging young men to think about the priesthood because of all the different things that priests get to do. After some counseling, now I don’t care what type of feedback I get (all though I always appreciate positive feedback), I am more focused on telling the truth.
3. Reason number three, that I have been avoiding writing about the priesthood is that it seems that every time I turn around the priesthood is being shown in a negative light because of the action of one priest. I was a member of a class of eight and now my class has five guys because two of them have left and one is imprison. This time though, I am more determined than ever to write about the priesthood because I feel that the way to stop guys from leaving the priesthood and to prevent them from doing other bad things is to get them the encouragement and support they need. If my writings can help people understand the priesthood better and thus help people support priests better than I will be very grateful for God for this opportunity. As part of this month’s spiritual ponderings each section will have five tips on how you can help support your parish priest(s) and priest(s) you know.
4. The fourth reason, that I feel God is calling me to write about the priesthood now is that he has helped me rediscover my priestly identity through my participation in a program created by the Institute of Priestly formation. For the last three years, I have been participating in a three week (a week in May, October, and January) a year class for three years in the Art of Contemplative Spiritual Direction. This class has given me many amazing insights into my priestly identity along with many resources including a book by Fr. David L. Toups, S.T.D called Reclaiming Our Priestly Character. I cannot express to all of you or to God how grateful I am to have been a part of this program. It has enriched my life and my priesthood tremendously.
So as we begin this New Year and this new month, I invite you to ponder with me the meaning of the priesthood and the role of the priest not only in the Catholic Church but also in God’s plan for salvation. I think that you will find that you will not only walk away with a better understanding of the Roman Catholic Priesthood but a deeper sense of God providence that will help you strengthen your relationship with God and his Church.
As I conclude this week’s Spiritual Ponderings, I would like to thank those in a special way that helped me answer God’s call to me to become a priest especially my mother who never pushed but always encouraged me to follow my heart. I would also like to thank those people who have supported me throughout my priesthood especially during the times that were not so great. I would not have come through those dark times without your prayers and support. Finally I would like to thank those Catholics that come to Mass each Sunday and help create the loving parishes that I have had the privilege to serve at. All of you play an important part in building up the Body of Christ on earth and I know that I would not be a priest today without your prayerful presence.
